Monkey King Manuscript
Zhang Guangyu's name is unfamiliar to most people.
A "Haunting the Heavenly Palace" has achieved the pinnacle of new Chinese animation films, and no one has been able to surpass it so far, and the art design of the film is Zhang Guangyu. The whole world knows "Big Trouble in the Sky", but it doesn't know that the creator of the character modeling is him.
△ The end credits of "The Haunting of the Heavenly Palace"
01 Zhang Guangyu's Artist's Road
Zhang Guangyu, formerly known as Dengying, was born on August 25, 1900 in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. Before graduating from elementary school, he was sent by his grandfather to Qianzhuang as an apprentice. However, Xiao Dengying had no interest in the business of Qianzhuang apprentices, so he asked his family to continue his studies. During his studies, he developed a strong interest in painting. Not only in the theater "New Stage" near his residence, he met the famous martial artist Zhang Delu, and since then he has often gone there to draw dramatic sketches and faces.
After graduating from primary school, after Zhang Delu interceded, he followed one of the founders of Shanghai Meizhuan, Zhang Yuguang, to paint the stage set of "New Stage" and changed his name to "Guangyu". In 1918, through the introduction of Zhang Yuguang, he entered the Shanghai Shengsheng Art Company and published his works in the newly founded World Pictorial.
From 1921 to 1925, he painted the Month Card In the Advertising Department of nanyang brother tobacco company. Shortly after the outbreak of the "May Thirtieth Massacre" in 1925, Zhang Guangyu edited the "Three-Day Pictorial" and published a large number of satirical cartoons exposing the darkness of the situation.
In 1926, Zhang Guangyu engaged in fine art work in the Shanghai Model Factory, published articles in the "Three Days Pictorial", and became acquainted with the painter Ye Qianyu. In 1928, he founded "Shanghai Comics" with Ye Qianyu; in 1932, Zhang Guangyu and his second brother Cao Hanmei (Zhang Meiyu) and Zhang Zhengyu, together with the crescent poet Shao Xunmei, jointly opened the Shanghai Times Book Company and published "Times Pictorial", "Times Comics", "Times Movies" and other publications. He also published his works in journals such as "Decameron". In 1938, he participated in the anti-Japanese propaganda activities in Wuhan. In the 1940s, he worked as a film artist.
In 1945, together with Ye Qianyu and others, he held a group exhibition of 8-member comics and a comic exhibition of "Journey to the West" in Chongqing, the rear area of the Anti-Japanese War, and later went to Hong Kong to participate in the Human Painting Conference.
After 1949, he became a professor at the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts and a director of the China Artists Association. Participated in major projects such as Huairentang decoration, national emblem design, and top ten architectural designs.
△ Various font logos designed by Zhang Guangyu constitute colorful neon light passages
02 Fledgling small test cattle knife
In 1918, through the introduction of Zhang Yuguang, Zhang Guangyu came to Shanghai Shengsheng Art Company and was valued by the boss Sun Xueni. In the same year, World Illustrated was founded, and Zhang Guangyu drew a large number of covers, illustrations, advertisements, etc. for World Pictorial. Zhang Guangyu's work also changed from painting large stage sets with big brushes in the "New Stage" period to creating small formats.
△ In 1918, Zhang Guangyu created the cover of the second issue of "World Pictorial", and the name of "World Pictorial" was printed on his clothes, smiling and embracing the world positively.
A set of female figure drawing training manuscripts
△ In the 1920s, Zhang Guangyu created many paintings of women.
These works depicting women, the lines are smooth and concise, and the content reflects the characteristics of the times, showing the modern life in Shanghai at that time. Since 1914, Liu Haisu, Zhang Yuguang and others founded the Shanghai Art College, introducing Western body sketching into Chinese painting, and Zhang Guangyu's paintings have also been deeply influenced.
△ 1927 "Filial Piety Diagram" for Shanghai's "White Tin Bag" and "Old Knife Brand" Cigarettes
△ In 1927, he painted a cigarette painting "Short Story" for the "White Tin Bag" and "Old Knife Brand" cigarettes in Shanghai.
03 "Golden Decade" of the Republic of China Period
In 1931, the Crescent Poet Shao Xunmei published "Notes on Miss", which was created by Zhang Guangyu with pictures. According to the "Great Light" of that year, "The poet Shao Xunmei recently wrote a book on the instructions of misses, which prepared the words that misses should know. The words are all interesting, the words are all beautiful, the cold irony, the treasure house in the authenticity and falsity communication world, and the binding and printing are extremely exquisite. Each volume sells for only one dollar and is sold exclusively by Crescent Books. "And it is only sold to misses and female students, wives are not allowed, and men need to write the name and address of the given miss." At that time, this matter seemed to have set off a small storm, and some people launched the "Instructions for the Young Master" in a tit-for-tat manner, mocking Shao and Zhang. Now it seems to be an interesting anecdote between young people, I don't know how Zhang Guangyu, who was Chinese New Year's Eve years old at the time, felt?
△ Illustration of "What Miss Needs To Know"
In the 1930s, Zhang Guangyu collected 76 folk love songs, accompanied by illustrations. These love lyrics are humorous and emotionally warm. Zhang Guangyu's composition of the picture is also humorous and witty, which is very impressive. Most of these folk love songs are no longer sung today, but the words and illustrations are still sincere.
△ Zuo Xiaozu's non-mainstream song "Wild Harmony Wanshixing" is derived from this.
This series of folk love song illustration works can be said to be Zhang Guangyu's early masterpieces, using line drawing expression techniques, while the picture composition black and white relationship arrangement is clever, with a strong decorative nature. Combined with the straightforward emotional expression of love songs, witty humor, hilarious.
△ In 1931, he designed the cover and font for the "Poetry Journal" founded by Xu Zhimo.
△ In 1934, he edited the magazine "Vientiane" and began to pay attention to folk art.
In 1934, the young Croppis and his wife, a disciple of the famous Mexican muralist Thiago Rivera, traveled to Shanghai. He has a strong interest in the art of line engraving in China, and also has a strong interest in Guangyu's artistic path. He brought his works to guangyu to observe, and thanks to the inspiration of Koflopis, Guangyu's painting style tended to be more concise and timeless and richly decorative. At the same time, Guangyu discovered Chinese folk art with strong national overtones (door gods, paper horses, window flowers, clay people...). Those simple shapes, bold tones and symmetrical and varied pattern styles all attracted Guang Yu, and he began to collect a large number of folk art works. "In his study in Mangjia garden, we can only see his beloved folk dolls - noodles, bamboo dragons, mud chickens and small puppets - still displayed in the small cupboard of pears."
△ In 1936, he published the "Guangyu Satire Collection", the cover of "Swallowing Pictures", the picture note "Big fish swallow small fish, small fish swallow silver cakes." ”
△ "Fly Removal Chart", the picture note "Small shoot, big let it fly." Huang Miaozi's note: The prosecutor's office chief Yu Ren patted the fly (but did not dare to fight the tiger).
△ In 1937, he edited "Splash" with Ye Qianyu and designed the cover for the inaugural issue.
△ A deck of "speck" cards with the theme of satirical cartoons was made at the exhibition site.
Derived from the English word "PUCK", "punctuation" is an early twentieth-century term for the concept of irony. "Punctuation" is a comprehensive comic-based publication edited by Zhang Guangyu in March 1937, and only published one issue in its inaugural issue. "Splash" is different: at that time, the general comic publication was only sixteen open in size, and "Place" was eight open and thirty-six pages, like Zhang Guangyu's color cover painting, Zhang Leping's comic "Hotel", and Wang Zimei's "Gorky Hell Wandering Soul", occupying the entire page. "Splash" also opened up a comic theory garden, and several articles were published with heavy weight. Zhang Guangyu founded "Splash" as a tribute to Shen Bochen, the founder of "Shanghai Splash".
04 Art fighter of the anti-Japanese period
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Guangyu actively participated in the propaganda activities of resisting Japan and saving the dead, and took refuge in Hong Kong after the fall of Shanghai. During the war years, Zhang Guangyu let people pick up a paintbrush and use comics as weapons to continue fighting.
△ Draft of "Yellow Fish Cooked white bone fragrance"
Draft of "Yellow Fish Cooked White Bone Fragrance": Avoid the Jackal, and flee, break into the Dragon Pond, enter the Tiger's Den, Yue Qiangui, See the Ghost, Take advantage of the danger, Search and scrape, Yellow Fish Cooked, White Bone Incense.
△ "Yellow Fish Cooked White Bone Fragrance" was drafted.
△ "Zunyi March"
△ Detailed characters of "Zunyi March"
△ "Kansai Four Riding Map"
△ Journey to the West Comic Exhibition, 1945.
05 Zhang Guangyu of New China
In November 1949, Zhang Guangyu and colleagues of the "Human Painting Society" jointly painted a huge portrait of Chairman Mao, "Chinese People Stand Up", which was delivered to Guangzhou to celebrate liberation. Later, he was hired as the acting head of the Department of Applied Fine Arts of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and a professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, teaching courses such as "Decorative Arts". In 1956, he transferred to the newly established Central Academy of Arts and Crafts (now Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts).
△ Designed for The New Qiao Hotel and peace hotel.
△ The Circus of the USSR, 1956.
△ Children's decorative paintings
△ "The Rising Socialist Sun rises in the east, imperialism is getting weaker and thinner"
△ Stamps designed for New China
△ Sketch of Beijing's "Top Ten Buildings".
06 Afterword
"Zhang Guangyu is an outstanding master of Chinese modernist art, which is where Zhang Guangyu's value lies. Modernism is a watershed moment for old and new Chinese art. Since the twentieth century, as Dr. Sun Yat-sen said: "The world trend is mighty, and those who go along with it prosper, and those who oppose it perish", the replacement of the Manchu Qing Republic and the wind and thunder of the May Fourth Movement have stirred up the young and promising Zhang Guangyu. Starting from folk love songs, current affairs cartoons, and commercial art, he abandoned the atmosphere of traditional literati painters and hindered the exploration of new art that broke away from the shackles of pen and ink. ”
——" Zhang Guangyu, a master of Chinese modernist art
Content Source:
"For the Future - Zhang Guangyu Art 12 Burning", Guardian Art Center, No. 1 Wangfujing, Beijing, Exhibition Period: December 23, 2020 (Wednesday) - March 14, 2021 (Sunday);
Zhang Guangyu, Master of Chinese Modernist Art, Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House;
Qiu Yunguang · A painting magnate who influenced the 20th century – Zhang Guangyu (commemorating the 110th anniversary of Zhang Guangyu's birth)
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